Psychological distress isolates men more than women, according to a 14-year study

An analysis of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study data found that increases in perceived social support predicted subsequent declines in psychological distress over time in both men and women. The association was bidirectional – higher psychological distress was associated with later reductions in perceived social support. This reverse link was stronger in men, leading study authors to conclude that men’s psychological distress leads to decreased perceptions of social support from others in their lives more strongly than social support leads to later reductions in distress. The paper was published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being.

Social connections are essential for both mental and physical health, providing emotional support, reducing psychological distress, and even contributing to a longer life. However, the relationship between social connectedness and well-being is bidirectional, as loneliness and limited support can worsen mental health while depression and distress can also cause people to withdraw from others.

These patterns may differ between women and men because traditional gender norms shape how people form relationships, express vulnerability, and seek help. Women are generally encouraged to develop close emotional bonds and tend to have larger support networks and more positive attitudes toward seeking assistance. Men, by contrast, are often expected to be self-reliant and emotionally stoic, which may discourage them from disclosing difficulties or asking others for support.

Psychological distress may therefore be especially likely to weaken men’s perceived social support when they experience their struggles as conflicting with traditional ideals of masculinity. Understanding these gender differences is important because men may benefit less from general social-support interventions despite facing particularly serious consequences of untreated mental health problems.

Study author Kieren J. Lilly and his colleagues examined gender differences in the relationship between social support and psychological distress over time. They hypothesized that the link between social support and psychological distress would be bidirectional. This means that increases in perceived social support would lead to later reductions in distress, but also that increases in psychological distress would lead to reductions in perceived social support over time. They expected to find differences between men and women in these associations.

Study authors analyzed data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS)—an ongoing longitudinal panel study of New Zealand adults. Study participants were initially sampled from the New Zealand electoral roll (a compulsory list of registered voters). The study started in 2009 and, across 15 data collection waves, it reached a total of 76,409 unique participants by 2023. Approximately 68-86% of participants were retained between data collection waves.

Data used in this study came from 75,404 participants who provided partial or complete responses to the assessments study authors were interested in. On average, these participants participated in 4.51 data collection waves. Sixty-two percent of them were women. Seventy-seven percent were born in New Zealand. Their average age in 2010 was 39 years.

In their analyses, study authors focused on assessments of perceived social support (three items, e.g., “There are people I can depend on to help me if I really need it”), psychological distress (the 6-item K6 Psychological Distress Scale), and demographic information on gender, age, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.

Results showed that when a person perceives increased social support, that person’s psychological distress is likely to decrease over time. However, this relationship was bidirectional – when a person experiences psychological distress, the perceived social support is likely to decrease at later time points.

However, among men, this reverse association – psychological distress leading to later reductions in social support – was stronger than the association of increased social support with decreases in psychological distress. This was not the case in women. Further analyses revealed that the effects of psychological distress were the strongest among older, New Zealand European, and heterosexual men.

“These results suggest that men’s psychological distress leads to decreased perceptions of social support from others in their lives, and this effect is more pronounced than the effect of social support over the same timeframe,” the study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the nuances of the link between social support and psychological distress. However, it should be noted that all data used in this study came from self-reports, leaving room for reporting bias to have affected the results.

The paper, “Gender Differences in the Longitudinal Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Perceived Social Support,” was authored by Kieren J. Lilly, Natalia M. Simionato, Fiona Kate Barlow, Danny Osborne, Caroline Salom, and Chris G. Sibley.